february 2011 newsletter
| the road ahead | ||
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"We are at the advent of possibly the greatest creative revolution in the history of magazines...And magazine edit teams - writers, editors, videographers, photographers and graphic designers - are already creating tablet-friendly content that showcases the enduring qualities of magazine media: curated stories, long-form journalism, a strong sense of community, and award-winning photography and design." So said Nina Link, CEO of the Association of Magazine Media, formerly the Magazine Publishers of America, in Media Life magazine, as quoted by The Wooden Horse News.
Mike McCue, CEO of Flipboard, a company that designs magazine apps may not agree. He is quoted in Media Digest as telling the L.A. Times: "Online journalism is contaminated by the web factor. Articles are being condensed to narrow columns of text across 5, 6, 7 pages, and ads that are really distracting for the reader. ...Journalism is being pushed into a space where I don't think it should ever go. Where it is trying to support the monetization model of the web by driving page views. It means a drop-off in long-form journalism because it is harder to monetize." Given the stretched-out articles, the time needed to download them and the distracting ads, McCue says, "it's not a pleasant experience to 'curl up' with a good web site." Nonetheless, Car and Driver iPad app is up and running with all those graphic, video and interactive features that Ms. Link waxes about but David Link warned about in last month's Newsletter. AWCom does not know if the two are related but they should talk. He says all the presumed savings in going digital will be consumed by bandwidth costs while consumers are being conditioned to getting all the digital bells and whistles for free. Well, almost. The Car and Driver app is a free download from the Itunes APP Store on IPad and each issue is $2.99 through In App Purchase. Britain's popular AutoCar also has gone digital for the iPad. For more digital startups see New Roads. And, for how to monetize a web site, see Huffington Post's purchase by AOL. | ||
| passing scene | ||
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Kudos to the Washington Auto Show for adding a little "Sex And The City" flavor to this year's event. The show partnered with the capitol's 200,000-member social networking group, Professionals In The City, to offer the nation's first speed dating go-round at an auto show. Popular Washington Post columnist, "love guru" Carolyn Hax kicked it off with a Q &A session, then the males went from car to car in the General Motors exhibit while the ladies stayed put (No doubt in the driver's seat). One female participant said the excitement of the show and the new cars made it, "a perfect icebreaker; there was no trouble making conversation." Post-event participants gave the event three stars out of a possible four stars and Professionals in the City prexy Michael Karlan said comments included, "awesome", "fun" "exciting" and "enjoyed the privacy" He said they had a decent turnout for a weekday night and they would welcome the opportunity to do it again next year.
The first and so far only photos received from the Quatar Auto Show were of people. Dignitaries, yes, cars, no. . . . The Detroit Bureau reports, "cognitive researchers at the University of Rochester have found that playing video games can train drivers to make the right decisions, and quickly. But other studies suggest that gamers may also be less tolerant of the decisions others make – at least on the highway." . . . Automotive News reports General Motors is diving into the murky world of creating entertainment as well as building cars and trucks. GM is the sole automotive sponsor for a new weekly half-hour TV show Inside the Vault - "aimed at entertaining and informing today's classic man." GM and other sponsors collaborate on creating the content. Hailed as a new approach for new times, it sounds like the bygone days of radio and early television when ad agencies bought the time and created content to please their clients. Did we miss it? In honor of Photographers Month last October Suzuki offered to award the shooter whose automotive photo was most "liked" by the brand's Facebook fans. Who won? And who won Suzuki's virtual racing game, "Kizashi Ring of Fire." The race was slated to be over January 3. . . Just for fun here are the 2010 Management Guff awards bestowed by Lucy Kellerway of the Financial Times, as reported in Media Digest:
Also from our grumpy brethren across the pond is the complaint of outgoing Press and Journal editor Darren Tucker that J-Schools are "failing newspapers" because very few of their graduates "possess the street cunning and inquisitiveness that is the hallmark of a good journalist." And Boris Johnson writing for The Telegraph notes, "Getting beat up in cyberspace does no one much harm" and concludes with the observation or hope, "Politicians are being held to account by journalists; journalists are being held to account by their readers – and it cannot be long, the Internet being what it is, before the wind of popular scrutiny blows through all the bourgeois professions. What are we going to do about the lawyers?" Click here to comment online: Passing Scene |
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| road signs | ||
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"Every night around the world, Google ruins countless dinner parties," David Koretz observes in opening his MediaPost column titled, "I Has Seen the Future – And We Is Dumb." He asks, in a world "where every argument is a Google search away from being finished," "you can't get lost," "you don't have to remember phone numbers" and "you don't have to memorize anything," are we "rendering ourselves irrelevant?" And, "What's the value of human memory in a world where all information is available? His answer: "There is one place where humans will continue to add immense value: non-linear processing. We excel at analyzing information in unique and non-obvious ways to reach interesting conclusions." He believes that leads to innovations and that publishing today is in sore need of innovation. Perhaps Qwiki.com, a rich media platform available to the public now in alpha form, may facilitate some of that innovation. It pulls together voice, video, photos and text from across the web to provide a current report on specific topics, now numbering three million and growing. Laurie Sullivan, quotes Qwiki CEO Doug Imbruce in Online Media Daily: "When released later this year, Qwiki will provide people with the ability to 'click a button' and merge (their) Facebook and LinkedIn profiles on demand." Along with other data gathered by its web crawlers, it will create a Some of the innovations may not prove popular, such as Facebook's newly introduced Sponsored Stories ad unit. According to Catherine Taylor in Social Media Insider, it works like this: "when a consumer interacts with or mentions a brand on Facebook -- via a check-in, a "Like," a wall post or a brand-sponsored app -- that interaction can become an ad shared with the user's Facebook friends, taking in account each user's privacy settings." Advertisers pay at a cost-per-click or cost-per thousand rate and Facebook member becomes the ad medium, as Taylor notes. She argues that such exploitation is part of the price of getting Facebook free and that if members were compensated for such use, that would be incentive for members to "game" their Facebook reach and brand mentions. . . . Last, a study by a web TV station with 10 million unique viewers a month revealed that the number of its subscribers with TV connections to their computers had tripled in the last year to 60 percent. A good deal of that jump is attributable to NetFlix but it presages all our devices seamlessly intermarrying. | ||
| autowriters spotlight | ||
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Cathy Droz has been test-driving manufacturers cars for over ten years (approximately 550 vehicles) and reporting on her findings in all forms of media. She is uncomfortable when referred to as an automotive journalist, even though she has written for both national and local newspapers, Internet sites and magazines.
The chief agreed. Whereupon Cathy and her Two for the Road USA partner, Bill Zervakos began to test-drive and report on the manufacturers' vehicles weekly via radio, television, Internet, newspapers and magazines. They write with a little different approach, Bill writes much like Road & Track and Cathy writes like Erma Bombeck with a little Family Circus. On radio, Cathy and Bill are considered "autotainment" for the masses. They interview the auto industry CEO's, auto engineers, race car drivers, authors, politicians and enthusiasts. Cathy told Ford President, Allan Mullaly what a good looking man he was and race car legend Lynn St. James that Bill had fantasies about her in the l970's. Both guests had a great sense of humor. When you click on www.twofortheroadusa.com website you will see reviews done with her daughter called Boomer and X, her dog called "Ask Doc" and with her grandchildren called Grandma's Hot Wheels. She has taken a unique approach to testing and reporting on cars. A woman's point of view but never losing sight of what men want too! " Test driving cars and reviewing them based on a consumer's lifestyle is how she gauges the affordability and functionality. It's different for a single gal, family of four, pet lover or an empty nester" says Droz. She can even tell a scratch golfer what cargo space would be best and in his or her price range. Her writing goals for the future include a book called "Boomers Wearing Thongs in Cars" a children's book called "turn the quilt over" and to continue writing for AAA Highroads Magazine about travel with grandchildren. She plans on doing auto expert videos on line for a production company out of Phoenix. She's a New York native with an attitude evidenced strongly on her radio show, Facebook page and her blogs. She say she's a wife, mother and grandmother and thankful to be in the auto industry and considered an automotive journalist. Turning 60 this year, she feels she is just getting started. Dream Car – Aston Martin DB-6 | ||
| the tom tom | ||
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Tom-Tom rants, raves, rambles and ruminations are volunteered and express the opinions of the writer. Autowriters.Com invites readers to submit a tom-tom. Your reward: a byline and an audience of your peers. All submissions are acknowledged, queued and used at the editor's discretion. As Linda Water Nelson notes, she has written about automobiles and trucks for almost 25 years, as a technical writer for manufacturers and suppliers, contributing editor for trade media such as AutoInteriors magazine, and a writer for the consumer press, including the Memphis Commercial Appeal and Bumper-to-Bumper. She is currently secretary of the Texas Auto Writers Association and is a long time member of the Automotive Press Association. Accreditation and AnarchyAs an autowriter with more than 20 years experience, I am amazed year after year at the variety of approaches taken to accreditation for professional association membership and credentialing for the various nationally-recognized auto shows. Nowhere is there less continuity or logic and, perhaps, at this time when we must recognize expanding new media if we intend to grow, it is the right time for everyone to reevaluate and regroup.
I am a board member for the Texas Auto Writers Association and am pleased that we, as a professional association, require annual accreditation of our members. Yes, there is still a lot of bitching and we have to cajole people to get their annual membership packages in on time, but we evaluate every entry and insist on five articles, radio or tv tapes, and photography published or broadcast during the previous calendar year for membership during the current year. Does it mean that we turn people down for membership? Sure. Are they upset? You bet. But the manufacturers have applauded our approach since they are confident that we, as an association, are vetting everyone. They are not spending their ever-dwindling media budgets on people who are not actively writing and broadcasting. This year we are faced with a challenge. How do we validate bloggers and social media people with the same level of scrutiny? Five tweets certainly does not make an autowriter, and anyone can establish a blog to deliver content to the masses. It will take new rules for that specific digital category. As we wrestle with this, we are aware that automakers are spending more money than ever before to address this category of media. We must acknowledge this by opening our doors – at least a crack, at first – to assure that we stay relevant as a professional group and still maintain our credibility. This situation leads to another that is both infuriating and unbelievable. Media managers for our key Auto Shows seem so enamored with both new media and foreign press that they deny access to media events for established automotive writers who have been vetted by their local and national associations. I suspect that they approach the question of who is a viable foreign press person by their willingness to pay their way to cities like Detroit to attend auto shows which avoids the issue; and they are trying to be fair to new media and social media by stretching their criteria rather than dealing with vetting. If so, shame on them. American automotive writers who have been fully vetted and accredited by their groups and provide that information to the Auto Nazis who make a judgment call as to whether to credential for auto shows should be in lockstep. If you can prove that you are an autowriter who actively publishes or broadcasts, you should be provided full credentials and access. Anything else is ludicrous. Does everyone make it impossible? No. The Chicago Auto Show is a prime example of one which encourages participation by automotive professionals whether they are in print, broadcast, or social media. Paul Brian has even offered well-attended sessions during media days so that old media journalists can get more comfortable with social networking and other forms of new media, and that new media people can interact more effectively with everyone else. Every year an effort is made to enhance the digital presence at the Chicago Show and it works. There is less distrust on both sides of the digital divide and the more traditional journalists are trying new avenues for their work. Organizations that do not embrace all kinds of media in their membership, and auto show management that doesn't understand that they do the automakers who support them an enormous disservice when they make arbitrary decisions as to who is or is not an active automotive writer could make us all dinosaurs. And, we know what happened to them. The auto industry has changed and embraced the digital age, while not turning their backs on traditional media. Maybe it's time for those who credential media for auto shows and are in love with what is new or foreign, and associations that would rather ignore new media —including bloggers and social media —to take that as an example for the future. Not doing so is not an option. |
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| new roads | ||
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Wooden Horse News reports "Editions" is an iPad magazine getting ready to launch by AOL. You rank your interests in various topics and it goes and grabs stories from the web for you. The tag line for the magazine is "The Magazine That Reads You."...Rupert Murdoch has launched the continuously updated digital The Daily to provide "the engaging design of a professionally edited magazine, the immediacy of the Web, the original reporting and distinctive voice of a newspaper as well as stunning photography, for the equivalent of 14 cents a day." . . .Virgin has launched a monthly digital entertainment-focused magazine titled "Project" and Bonnier has introduced a news aggregator for the Ipad. Meanwhile Google is said to be readying a digital newsstand for Android users.
TrueCar.com goes after the same data in a different way - by aggregating data it buys from dealers. Later this year, Karl Greenberg reports in Marketing Daily, TrueCar will introduce Clearbook to vie with Auto Trader, Kelley Blue Book, NADA Guide, and the Black Book in providing used car prices. It will aggregate what owners are asking for their used cars. According to Greenberg, Clearbook is part of TrueCar CEO Scott Painter's plan to eliminate lead-generation as a web model for the automotive market. Instead of selling dealers leads his sites generate, he will take a percentage of the actual sales they facilitate. A good deal for consumers and dealers, Painter thinks, because it makes pricing more transparent and breeds trust. And it will deliver to dealers consumers, at the end of the sales funnel, who have already decided on what they want and all that is left is the price they can get it for. | ||
| regional news | ||
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IMPA: Mike Spinelli has been elected the group's president for 2011. John Matras is first vice president, Mike Allen second V.P. Lisa Barrow, secretary and Mike Geylin, remains treasurer. MPG: The Guild's March 8 meeting will be an early evening affair (refreshments and hors d'oeuvres) at the Petersen Museum's Rooftop Pavilion from 4 pm to 7pm and will feature a panel of car designers and an opportunity to tour the Petersen's new exhibit on Supercars. New directors elected to the MPG Board are: John Clinard, Aaron Gold, and Chris Martin. NEMPA: Keith Griffin, was quick to note the irony of postponing the association's rugged Winter Vehicle Testing because of "Winter," as he wrote in his advisory to members. Too much snow already at the rendezvous as well on the roads there and another 20 inches or so due by the scheduled day, made backing off a week seemed prudent. WAPA: The 2011 WAPA Golden Quill award winner is Dan Carney, freelance journalist. A three-part series he wrote for MSNBC.com won the award. | ||
| pit notes | ||
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If Matt Farah is right, the American version of the storied Top Gear TV show soon will have some smart, funny competition on the Speed Channel. In an For those who wonder what the "ZF" stands for in the upcoming AutoWeek/ZF Fantasy Camp May 13-15 it is a worldwide corporation "whose products set the standards for driveline and chassis technology." Participants in the camp, at $2,000 per person can test drive and evaluate the latest sporty coupes at the Ford Dearborn Development Center and enjoy a list of other benefits. More information at http://www.autoweek.com/fantasycamp. . . . And, for those who wonder what a 24Hours of LeMons is like, Speed Channel participated in the last LeMons Blago 500 and its crew recovered sufficiently to produce a show slated to air at 7 p.m. Eastern time Saturday, Feb. 19. Check local listings to be sure it has not been banned for any one of several reasons. Jeff Mohr of Mohr Manufacturing has announced, "The world's first energy absorbing, crash-tested, safety ball mount." It will reduce or avoid whiplash in a rear end collision. Contact http://www.superbumper.com or http://www.sparebumper.com for more information. . . . Nominations are now being accepted for the SEMA Hall of Fame. Created in 1969, the award designed to honor outstanding persons in the industry who have enhanced the stature of, or significantly contributed to, the industry and/or association's growth. Nominations are being accepted until March 16, 2011, and can be submitted online. To learn more about the SEMA Hall of Fame and for a list of inductees, visit www.semahof.com or contact Lisa Moreno at lisam@sema.org or 909/978-6684.
Controversial Myron Stokes made this startling claim on his eMotionReports.com site: "...we know from our own intelligence sources that Toyota’s difficulties primarily stem from internal sabotage at the design and manufacturability level put in place nearly two decades ago. This activity constituted a core element of a grand strategy by an emergent global player, who understood implicitly that the success of its long range plans required crafting a loss of consumer confidence in the Toyota brand." | ||
| lane changes | ||
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In the absence of an auto writer at the Durham Herald Sun, Nancy Wykle will field auto news releases of interest to the North Carolina paper's readers. She can be reached at: NWykle@heraldsun.com . . . Wayne York Kung moves from Rolls Royce Motor Cars North America where he was product communications manager to Jaguar Land Rover North America as national product communications manager. Reach him at 201-760-8591 and wkung@jaguarlandrover.com. . . . Janelle Miranda has moved up within American Suzuki Motor Corp. to PR specialist from customer relations. Her contacts are: Janelle.miranda@suz.com or 714-996-7040 ext. 2509.
Dan Jedlicka continues to expand on his believed world-record published car reviews, somewhere in the thousands. Material from the former Chicago Sun-Times auto writer's Road Tests and Classic Cars site (www.danjedlicka.com) is being carried by www.DriveChicago.com and www.TFLcar.com . . . Bill Radford is the new auto contact at the Colorado Springs Gazette: bill.radford@gazette.com or 719-636-03412. . . . Taro Koki, executive producer at the GTChannel, has relocated to 10559 Jefferson Ave. #1A, Culver City, CA 902332 , 310-533-7883, taro@gtchannel.com . . . . Rick Minter has switched from Atlanta Journal Constitution to Racing Today, rminter@racingtoday.com . . .Email addresses new to AW Com: Vintage Vehicle TV producer host Lance Lambert: vintagevehicle@gmail.com . . . Freelancer Tom Larocque: larocue3000@msn.com . . . John Lavoy: john@modeltimes.com . . . Gordon Hard: ghard@consumer.org . . . Streetfire.Net content director Alexis@alexisgodschalk.com . . . Associated editor for Canadian Auto World, Lawrence Papoff: lapoff@wheels.ca . . . IHS Global Insight's Auto Segment PR, jim.dorsey@ihsglobalinsight.com . . . Stefanie Carano, Detroit Auto Scene, formerly World Autoscene, scarano@Detroitautoscene.com . . . Howard Elmer, writer for CANWest News Service: ipowersports@sympatico.ca . . . Nelson Ireson, nelson@highgearmedia.com . . . Joanna McNally is now Joanna Pinkham at Kelley Blue Book, Jpinkham@kbb.com | ||
| - 30- | ||
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Glenn F. Campbell |
cohesive narrative as permitted by the subject. . . . Yet other tools to be exploited by innovators have been introduced by 
Her automotive background was 6 years owning an automotive ad agency in Phoenix, Arizona when the editor and chief of the Tribune papers there asked her to test drive cars and report on them in the weekly papers. Why? It was a job his writers would fight over and he wanted a woman with car knowledge. Droz said yes but only if her reviews were more like Sex and the City dialogue.
On a more modest scale, Paul Borden, president of SAMA, has launched a new blog: 
interview for KROQ Radio's Lightning Garage, the producer and host of The Smoking Tire webcast said an un-scripted pilot has the makings of a prime time TV series that will "change how people watch car shows and, in a way, appreciate cars." Comedian and car enthusiast Adam Carolla serves as ringmaster of the freewheeling show tentatively titled, The Car Show. Joining Corolla and Farah for the pilot were Dan Neil (yes, the Pulitzer prize-winning Dan Neil) and ex NBA basketball player and host of The Best Damn Sports Show Period, John Salley.
Sue Mead and co-driver Darren Skilton finished first in class and 40th overall in the "Dakar" rally, prudently staged in South America this year. Their Fab School-General Tire F-150 Raptor was the only stock production vehicle still running at the end of the 6,000-mile trek. (The Fab School vocational facility in Riverside, Calif., donated the labor to prepare the 5.4-liter, V-8 engine Raptor for the competition.) She is the first woman driver of record from either North or South America to compete in the Dakar Rally and the first to win in an automotive class. After a near-death experience Mead decided at age 35 "to go for life" and segued from photographer and Associated Press writer to auto journalist and racer. Twenty-five years later she has worked or raced in 69 countries and now, is ready to write her book.
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| CALENDAR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| February 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | APA/TI Luncheon, Detroit, MI | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5-7 | 2011 NADA Convention & Expo, San Francisco, CA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | WAJ, Dinner Meeting, So. San Francisco, CA, Toyota | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9-10 | Chicago Auto Show Media Preview, Chicago | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | NEMPA, Media Members Only | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | MPG, Luncheon, Proud Bird, Los Angeles, CA, Fiat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | SAMA, Luncheon, TBA, Chrysler | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | IMPA, Luncheon, 3 West Club, NYC, Fiat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 28 | WAPA, Luncheon, Nat'l Press Club, Consumer Reports | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| March 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | GAAMA, Luncheon, Mazda, Location TBA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | WAPA Gala, Nat'l Press Club Ballroom, John Lynker Golden Gear Award winner announced | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Petersen Museum, Los Angeles, CA, "Super Cars" Exhibit Opens | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | NEMPA, Dinner, Boston Globe, Boston, MA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | MPG (4pm - 7pm) Petersen Museum, Los Angeles, CA, Design Panel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | SAMA, Luncheon, TBA, Lincoln | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 29-30 | CARS Conference, "Road to Renewal", Dearborn, MI (Hyatt) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| April 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 2011 PACE Awards Presentation, Detroit, MI | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | NEMPA, Dinner, Boston Globe, HAARTZ, Boston, MA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | MPG, Luncheon, Proud Bird, Los Angeles, CA, Ford | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12-15 | 2011 SAE World Congress, Detroit, MI | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | NADA/IHS Automotive Forum "The Road Ahead", New York City, NY, Hilton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20-21 | New York International Auto Show Press Days, New York, NY | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 22- May 1 | New York International Auto Show Public Days, New York, NY | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| motoring press organizations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 15 regional automotive press associations provide information and background not easily found elsewhere. If they are too distant for you to attend their meetings, belonging usually gives you access to transcripts or reports of these events and other benefits.
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| DAPA Is Launched | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Digital Automotive Press Association (DAPA) has been launched. It is a professional organization for digital automotive information content providers and the industry representatives who work with them. It is a vetted organization geared to bringing professionalism to those who use the Internet as a platform to provide automotive information. DAPA welcomes those who want to make providing digital automotive information a sustainable career.
DAPA is dedicated to helping professionals getting the tools of the trade they need. It wants to ensure that OEMs and others affiliated with the automotive industry understand the digital automotive providers' needs and desires to be treated as professionals - and to root out those who would undermine what they do through deceit or giving away their product for free. DAPA will have a vetted membership. It is not going to be open to just any content provider. A member has to be a professional who derives a significant part of his or her income from providing digital auto information or be employed in an industry that works with digital auto information providers. DAPA will have a committee that reviews each membership application. Eventually each membership application will require a current member's recommendation before it can proceed. Information will have to be provided on audience and employment. Submitted information will be independently verified. DAPA is not here to compete with or replace the regional press associations. It wants to work in conjunction with them. For example, the American Society of Business Publication Editors co-exists with the Society of Professional Journalists. There is a need for DAPA and regional press associations and there is a lot of room under the Banyan tree that is the world of automotive content. DAPA is being started by Keith Griffin, founder of the Internet Car and Truck of the Year awards, which is dedicated to recognizing the contribution of Internet automotive journalists. For more information, send an email to info@digitalauto.org. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| talkback | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Karl Ritzler was a dedicated professional journalist. I was honored to have him as my editor. There is not a doubt in my mind that he made me look better than I was or ever hoped to be. On many occasions he went to bat for me with the powers that be at the AJC. He didn't have to, but that was Karl's way. Always striving to do the right thing. Not only have we lost a really fine gentleman, those of us who were privileged to have known him personally have lost a dear friend. Sincerest sympathy to his wife Clair and his children and grandchildren. Linda Sharp Stewart is the consummate pro and a great hire for SEMA ... Wherever he's held forth over the years, John has always maintained the highest level of personal integrity. This guy is truly interested in our business. He understands journalism and journalists because he is one. SEMA may well turn out to be where this truly good guy belonged all along. Congrats John! And even bigger CONGRATS: SEMA! Doug Stokes Re: Autowriters Spotlight Myron Stokes And we should care, because? Kate McLeod Re: Pit Fight Well put, well said, and (please note) that just this past Sunday the LA Times (does anyone still alive remember the dance of the dollars that they had w/GM adverts-vs-reviews a few years back) went for the Volt too. -Stokes Great issue! Thanks, Glenn! Bob McClurg Best one yet, Glenn. Thank you. Silvio Calabi Hi Glenn, Another fine issue of Autowriter. As a confirmed Luddite I liked the comment of Peter DuPre, about his Jeep, MG and English motorcycle. I have a Jeep, an old Alfa and a Lotus Formula Junior, all in parts, so I know what he's talking about. The new cars with their needless gimmickry and lack of personality are as interesting as a speech by Barak Obama. All the best, Carl Hi Glenn, While reading the last newsletter, I noticed that there was an omission on your list of press associations. One that I am VERY proud to be a member of. The American Racing Press Association. If you have been around for a long time, no doubt you have heard of ARPA. Many newcomers have not, as the organization seems to have become less visible as the member population grows older. They had a web site years ago, but the gent who maintained it passed away and the site more or less vanished. ARPA was formed to provide trackside insurance for those who covered racing professionally. Back in the late Sixties through to early Eighties, ARPA was THE group to belong to. The membership is a who's who of North American racing media personalities. Recently, some old members who had drifted away have rejoined, along with a few of us younger (relatively) guys. I have taken on the task of creating a new web presence for ARPA. You can see the new site at http://americanracingpress.com Perhaps you might like to include ARPA in your list. Have a great day, Gary Grant | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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